Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1 The "Conspiracy" Unfolds -- Historical background -- Priests in politics -- The anticlericals -- Modest proposals -- A deep-laid plot -- The English tourists -- Bryce at the helm -- The Irish council -- 2 "An Invidious Distinction" -- The question of inspection -- A degraded position -- Agitation -- Birrell's plan -- Search for a compromise -- Impasse -- Implementation -- 3 "In Foreign Fetters" -- Familiar demands -- Two investigations -- Macpherson's bill -- Irish response -- A final attempt -- 4 Transition -- Sinn Fein ascendant -- The first Dail -- An Irish curriculum -- The new constitution -- 5 The New Order -- Eoin MacNeill -- Timothy Corcoran -- 6 "No Ground for Complaint" -- Administrative change -- A labour proposal -- The position of the lay teacher -- Linguistic revival -- Technical instruction -- An enlightened government -- 7 "Hand in Hand" -- A Catholic nation -- The Council of Education -- The lay teacher in limbo -- Gaelic Ireland -- A bastion of the faith -- 8 Analysis and Conclusion -- The concept of control -- Recruitment of clergy -- A spiritual empire -- The process of recruitment -- An unquestioning laity -- Some characteristics of the system -- Schools and society in harmony -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.